A strange campaign
The more I follow the run up to the French presidential election, the more I feel this campaign is strange. Maybe the 10000 kilometers distance changes my way of seeing thing... no, I'm certainly not the only one to realize that this campaign is nothing about programs, and everything about identifying with the French people. How to explain otherwise that both Royal and Sarkozy say more or less the same thing? Even when this is in complete contradiction with what they said a few months ago? Take for instance their stand on how companies should behave in a moral way, or how help to companies should be distributed according to their needs and behavior. Or how police should get closer to people. Actually, this is mostly Sarcozy reneging on his economically liberal and socially authoritarian credo, when he realizes that he is no longer in agreement with the people, but Royal does it sometimes too. And yet, does anybody believe that there is no difference between the two of them? Clearly not, you just have to look in the close past to see that temporary positioning before an election is very rarely related to the policy applied after this election.
The result is that the debate is somehow empty. Note that what the candidates say doesn't matter, just that people have to look much more at the form than at the contents. On one side, protection and understanding, on the other side dynamism(?) and authority. But this is only a part of the picture. Traditionally the socialists are also much more fond of research and culture.
And of keeping a budget balanced, even if this means more taxes. But somehow, the people will have to find this by themselves, because both sides will just argue that next time they will be the best at just everything.
So personally, I've already decided. But I wonder whether this is the right way to run a democracy. On the other hand, I realize that both sides have very little leeway: if they try to argue a point too strongly, then create a gap between them and the people, and they go down in the next opinion poll. At least, we've got charismatic candidates on both sides, which means that they both have their chance. However, might I hope that the French people will look a bit further than the charisma?
By the way, I don't think that this is specific to France. In Britain, the Tories are now running on what looks in large part like a Labour program, and in Japan there is no visible difference between the two main parties. Might this be related to a kind of "national consensus", on what has to be done, limiting drastically the politicians?
The result is that the debate is somehow empty. Note that what the candidates say doesn't matter, just that people have to look much more at the form than at the contents. On one side, protection and understanding, on the other side dynamism(?) and authority. But this is only a part of the picture. Traditionally the socialists are also much more fond of research and culture.
And of keeping a budget balanced, even if this means more taxes. But somehow, the people will have to find this by themselves, because both sides will just argue that next time they will be the best at just everything.
So personally, I've already decided. But I wonder whether this is the right way to run a democracy. On the other hand, I realize that both sides have very little leeway: if they try to argue a point too strongly, then create a gap between them and the people, and they go down in the next opinion poll. At least, we've got charismatic candidates on both sides, which means that they both have their chance. However, might I hope that the French people will look a bit further than the charisma?
By the way, I don't think that this is specific to France. In Britain, the Tories are now running on what looks in large part like a Labour program, and in Japan there is no visible difference between the two main parties. Might this be related to a kind of "national consensus", on what has to be done, limiting drastically the politicians?
posted by Le Fataliste at
17:15
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